Montesquieu, the Republic and Commerce

Authors

  • Bernard Manin

Keywords:

Montesquieu, republicanism, political theory, liberalism, political thought, virtue, commerce, republic

Abstract

In the history of political thought, it has been traditionally distinguished and confronted the classic or republican conception of liberty, associated to active participacion of citizens in public affairs, and the mdoern or liberal notion, usually related to the development of free economic trade. Basically, the opposition between these two understandings has been based in the motivations of individual action: republicans consider that citizens should sacrifice their own  interest to the common good, while liberals seek protection of individual activities against any kind of disctretional external coercion. This is the origin of the opposition between virtue and commerce. But the conforontation is neither natural nor necessary. Relying in a deeper interpretation of the concepto of republican virtue developed by Montesquieu, it can be stated that republic and commerce are not rivals, as it has been widely thought.

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How to Cite

Manin, B. (2001). Montesquieu, the Republic and Commerce. Política Y Gobierno, 8(2), 275-314. http://politicaygobierno.cide.edu/index.php/pyg/article/view/387

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